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 Mechatronics - It's
All In The Interface
· A farm equipment manufacturer is developing machinery
that can map soil level and quality throughout a field, then
determine the most efficient planting and irrigation patterns.
· A new fire detector, using fiber optic sensors that
detect flames at a location, avoids false alarms by analyzing
the infrared signature of a heat source, phones the local fire
department, and plays evacuation messages for occupants.
· A spray nozzle is under development that uses a special
control circuit that stores pump characteristics, measures pressure
drop and surge, and maintains an even flow rate regardless of
the main water pressure. Such nozzles could improve efficiency
in irrigation and the use of outdoor spray chemicals.
Every week more products are introduced with "smart"
features made possible by embedded microprocessors. The trend
is here to stay, according to Will
Saunders, a mechanical engineering professor. "Computer
architecture and innovation have advanced so far, so fast, that
we can now imbed decision-making inside almost every device and
process," he said.
It is also changing the way that systems and devices are designed,
and spawning a new engineering field. "When companies first
started incorporating microprocessor technology into their products,
they would naturally create a team with mechanical engineers
who understood the mechanism and electrical or computer engineers
who understood the computer technology," explained John
Bay, an electrical engineering professor and specialist in
robotics. "However, they soon found that there was more
to it than that. They needed expertise in the actual interface
of the two technologies.
 "For example,"
he continued, "it takes some well-tailored electrical signals
to drive certain mechanical actuators. Very often, the mechanical
engineers weren't aware of the limitations on the signals coming
from the microcontroller and the computer people wouldn't appreciate
what the actuator and the mechanics really needed. The issue
might not be recognized until the prototype was built."
From such experiences has grown a knowledge base and design
process that has been dubbed, "mechatronics." As its
name implies, mechatronics involves a blurring of the traditional
mechanical and electrical/computer engineering fields. "Mechatronics
focuses on the synergism between actuators, sensors, controls,
computer architecture, software, and knowledge of the dynamic
system," Saunders explained. "Mechatronics involves
a wide range of interdisciplinary skills. It's actually come
about because mechanical and electrical engineering have become
so specialized that engineers no longer focus on the whole system.
We need a breed of dedicated individuals to remain broad-based,
who can understand the interface between the two fields."
With engineers who understand the issues involved, companies
can develop "smart" products much more efficiently
and cost-effectively, Bay said.
Due to the efforts of Saunders, Bay, and Charles
Reinholtz, a mechanical engineering professor, Virginia Tech
is one of only a dozen universities across the country that teaches
mechatronics. In the fall of 1996, they teamed up to develop
a senior-level introduction to the field for electrical, computer,
and mechanical engineering students. Since then, the course has
become a permanent offering by both departments.
Tech's mechatronics course is structured as a lecture/project
course. The three faculty members each present lectures in their
own area of expertise. Instead of a textbook, students purchase
a specially designed kit of components, which they use during
the first weeks to build and test their own microprocessor control
board. "Mechatronics at any level is hardware and lab oriented,"
Bay explained. "It lies more on the technological side of
engineering, rather than the theoretical."
There is little traditional homework, but each week students
work in the laboratory on a variety of projects. They also are
required to complete a semester-long project in a multidisciplinary
team, using the microcontroller boards they have built. Past
projects have included a pill sorter and dispenser, an automatic
blind adjuster, a bottle conveyer belt, alarm system, and AC
induction motor controller.
Teaching engineering students with such diverse backgrounds
is challenging, Bay admitted. "We need to cover some material
for the ME students that the EEs should already know, and vice
versa," he said. "However, there is more in the course
for both groups. We can't teach the field by just sending EEs
over to take ME courses and MEs to take EE courses. They would
still miss the essence of mechatronics."
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